Women’s History Month speaker at RCC is mother, lawyer, and priest

Posted by rccinfo, Community Contributor

The Rev. Torrance Harman (second from right) spoke at RCC on March 22, as part of the college's Women's History Month observance. With her, from left to right, are RCC's Charlene Jones, Karen Lewis, Frances Kenyear, and Lorraine Justice.

The Rev. Torrance Harman (second from right) spoke at RCC on March 22, as part of the college's Women's History Month observance. With her, from left to right, are RCC's Charlene Jones, Karen Lewis, Frances Kenyear, and Lorraine Justice. (Posted by rccinfo, Community Contributor)

Posted by rccinfo, Community Contributor

On March 22, Rappahannock Community College welcomed the Rev. Torrance Harman, priest-in-charge of Richmond County's Farnham Episcopal Church and St. John's Episcopal Church (Warsaw), who spoke about the many and varied experiences of her long life. Harman's presentation, along with that of the previous week's speaker, was arranged by the college's Student Support Services (SSS) Office in observance of Women's History Month.In addition to her Master of Divinity degree from Union Presbyterian Seminary in Richmond, Harman holds a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Richmond School of Law, and a bachelor's degree in business from Virginia Commonwealth University. Before her ordination in 2004, she was a practicing attorney for 20 years, focusing on family law. She also served as a Virginia Supreme Court certified mediator, at the same time maintaining an extensive private mediation practice. She has been an active participant in numerous community organizations and projects during the whole of her adult life."It doesn't matter how old you are," Harman said, referring to the fact that she was almost 40 years old when she started practicing law, and 60 when she became a priest. "You can do anything you want." She emphasized that your age gives you a certain world-view, based on your parents, your gender, and the environment you experienced while you were growing up: "It's the lens through which you make your decisions." But there have been major changes since she was a little girl."In my wildest imagination, I couldn't have believed that I would become a lawyer or a priest," she said. "It was okay for a girl to be a nurse or a teacher"-but her expectations were tied to her image of herself as a female. This led to her marriage at age 18, and a 20-year stint as a stay-at-home mom, before she started to expand her options through education. She now takes part in the process of education from the other end, teaching Religion as an RCC adjunct instructor.Speaking of women who have impressed her with their strength and accomplishments, Harman mentioned Jackie Kennedy, Margaret Thatcher, Golda Meir, and Indira Gandhi. "They stood up and made a difference," she said. On the personal level, the most important woman in her life was her grandmother-"because she loved me, and I knew it"-and the most important thing for her hearers to hand on to their own grandchildren is courage. "You have to learn to deal with life creatively and courageously."For the 2016-17 academic year, RCC was awarded $302,452 to offer assistance to its students through the SSS program. The United States Department of Education established this program to help remove social, cultural, and economic barriers to higher education; it provides RCC students who meet its guidelines with individualized academic and personal counseling, tutoring, and cultural and social enrichment opportunities. The Department of Education makes these services available through the TRIO series of federal grant programs.